One of the paintings preserved in the Church of Sant'Anna in Pisa has been restored: work on the mid-eighteenth-century canvas depicting St. Benedict Abbot and St. Scholastica has been completed and returned to its original location
The presentation during the Holy Mass celebrated in the presence of Giovanni Paolo Benotto, Archbishop of Pisa. The work, which was heavily damaged, has now shone again thanks to the Sant'Anna School, which financed its restoration. The author could be Tommaso Tommasi, one of the most important artists of the age
A sophisticated renovation project has restored to the devotion of the faithful, citizens and tourists visiting the church of Sant'Anna in the historic centre of Pisa the oil painting on canvas dating back to the mid 18th century depicting St Benedict Abbot and St Scholastica, placed on one of the minor altars, and one of the works of art that embellish the church. The restoration has just been completed and the canvas, restored to its original location, was presented on Wednesday 17 December, in conjunction with the Christmas Mass in the Church of Sant'Anna - a rare example of Baroque in Pisa and an integral part of the historic building complex - celebrated in the presence of Monsignor Giovanni Paolo Benotto, Archbishop of Pisa. The restoration project, financed by the Sant'Anna School, received authorisation from the Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio for the provinces of Pisa and Livorno in July 2024, and began in the following weeks. The intervention was entrusted to a qualified laboratory, Lo Studiolo Snc, in whose premises, in Lucca, the restoration took place, which was necessary following damage, especially to the lower half of the composition.
Critics have not yet attributed with certainty the author of this canvas, which measures 140 by 250 centimetres and has a surface area of approximately 3.5 square metres. According to the text, ‘The Churches of Pisa. Guida alla conoscenza del patrimonio artistico' by Franco Paliaga and Stefano Renzoni (Edizioni ETS, 1992), it is plausible that it is a work by Tommaso Tommasi depicting St. Benedict and St. Scholastica with Angels. The Saint, on the right of the canvas, wears the habit of the Benedictines: since St. Scholastica is the patron saint of the Benedictine order, it is equally plausible that this is the painting made in 1747, on the occasion of a commission of canvases to Tommasi, Grisoni and Luchi, which took place between the 1740s and 1750s. If this is confirmed, it would indeed be a work by Tommaso Tommasi, an artist considered by critics to be very important in the 18th century Pisan panorama.
‘We are happy,’ commented the Rector, Sabina Nuti , ’to have returned a valuable canvas to the Church of Sant'Anna and to allow Pisans and tourists passing through to visit the church and enjoy its beauty.
Cover photo: the canvas depicting St. Benedict Abbot and St. Scholastica after the restoration.
